Reviews list for Sabbat (GBR) - History of a Time to Come (1988)

After checking out English thrash band Sabbat's two early demos, I went straight into the debut.  I expected a fun but standard-sounding thrash band, as was the norm of the time, and for the most part.  But I honestly have to say that I'm not terribly impressed with this overall.  The writing quality, production quality and the overall atmosphere are a little better than the usual thrash debut album I came across for the thrash challenge on Metal Academy.  Destruction was generic and underproduced for several albums, for example.  This has PROPER production.  Not perfect, but proper and largely clear with only a faint hint of noise factor.  The album's overall vibe and essence is fun fodder for the thrash junkie.  The technicality isn't that extreme, and largely done before, but it showcases all the skills that the demos showed off but were unfortunately tarnished by demo quality audio, and almost completely drowned by the first.  The eight-minute epic, Horned Is the Hunter, pretty much drags through standard thrash behavior without any sense of branching out.  Eventually it got so samey, monotone and standard that I was losing interest.  I finished it, though.  Overall, this debut is decent but passable.

67

I tell who would be really annoying at parties?  Martin Walkyier.  His clipped, posh English accent must permeate the room almost organically with its innate ability to fill the air around it without seemingly ever raising the decibels behind it.  For most of History of a Time to Come it is Martin's vocals that dominate the aether, despite the raging riffs of Andy Sneap doing their upmost to unseat Walkyier from this lead role on the album.  However, just like that person at parties who commands the attention of the room, Sneap's guitar work comes off as nothing more than a distraction when it is allowed some floor space.

This sounds harsher than I mean it to as I actually think that part of the major success of this album (and indeed the band) is down to that unique vocal style that is so recognisable.  Although not quite the same, a fair comparison would be Judas Priest.  Tipton and Downing for the most part battle to let their guitars do some talking but in reality they will never be considered ahead of Rob Halford's vocals.  I actually prefer the guitar work on most Priest records as, if you listen closely enough, they more than stack up against the vocals of Halford.  Here, within the ranks of Sabbat, Sneap simply does not stand a chance though.  No matter how intently I listen, Walkyier is the main memory I take away with me after each spin.

That having been said, I cannot deny the energy behind this record and its infectious display of some raging thrash metal.  History of a Time to Come is a "banger" most certainly.  It is lauded in many quarters and I can most certainly see why, even though I cannot match these levels of enthusiasm for the entire duration.  Touching upon NWOBHM and traditional metal influences there is most certainly variety present here, however I am not entirely sure I want there to be.  The raging intensity of their thrash metal is where Sabbat thrive and I feel the loss of focus on this aspect of their sound is sometimes to the detriment of my enjoyment.  Still, for an album that is 35 years old, it sounds as fresh as the day it was released and most certainly has aged well. 

I've listened to this several times over the past few weeks. Each time I've felt like I'm on the verge of figuring out what everyone seems to love about it, but I never actually have. I've now decided that History of a Time to Come is simply overrated. While this is decent thrash metal with an overly theatrical edge, it simply doesn't get me excited at all. Each song simply washes over me, no matter how hard the vocalist tries to inject some life into the average music.

Speaking of the vocals, they are extremely dominant on this album, with the music just remaining in the background for the majority. When I reach the end of the album, I simply can't remember many riffs at all as they aren't very interesting. Considering how much the vocals reign throughout, it doesn't help that I find his style to be extremely annoying at times. If-a your-a going-a to-a emphasise-a the-a last-a syllable-a of-a every-a word-a, then it's going to get annoying quickly which is what Martin Walkyier does. He also has a bit of a lisp, but now I'm really nit-picking.

It might sound from all of the above that I really dislike History of a Time to Come. It's OK, I guess. The production is adequate, and a couple of tracks are enjoyable such as A Cautionary Tale and For Those Who Died, but overall, I'm just a bit disappointed after all the hype. I'll give the follow up some attention as that gets even higher ratings. I'm not sure if it's all that different but I'll give it a try before I write off Sabbat as there is potential.